How Board Tech Fluency Breaks the NPO Financial Stress Cycle
January 27, 2026 • 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET
Most nonprofit boards care deeply. They're just flying blind.
When your board can't see what you see—when they're reviewing 45-day-old spreadsheets instead of real-time data—even the most well-intentioned board members become gatekeepers instead of partners. Every meeting becomes "are we okay?" instead of "here's how we help."
But something shifts when boards get tech-fluent.
Tech fluency means board members can weigh tech decisions' cost implications, spot digital infrastructure gaps that create financial risk, and ask strategic questions about systems spending. Without it, even experienced board members can't provide financial oversight in 2026—because every budget decision is now a tech decision.
In this interactive fireside chat, Alethea Hannemann (Board.Dev) and Matt Gardner (Hiline) dig into the behavioral transformation that happens when boards combine tech fluency with financial transparency—and show you how to create this shift with your current board.
What you'll walk away with:
- Why tech fluency (not tech expertise) is now essential for financial oversight—and how to build it in your current board
- Why showing your board everything (yes, even the scary stuff) actually reduces your anxiety and stress
- How real-time financial data that boards can understand builds strategic partners instead of worried overseers
- How to take your board from panic-driven to solution-minded when cash flow issues hit
- One thing you can do this week to start shifting your current board dynamic, without starting over
This isn't going to be about teaching your board pivot tables. We'll show you how to create actual partners instead of worried overseers.
Speakers
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